Pak wants India-type waiver for civil nuclear programme

Pakistan has said it wants an exemption from the NSG and International Atomic Energy Agency on the lines of the waiver given to India to boost its civil nuclear energy generation capacity with Chinese help.

Pakistan did not oppose the NSG's waiver of its rules last year to allow India to acquire atomic technology and know-how because it expected similar treatment from the world community, prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said.

He said Islamabad is seeking additional atomic power plants from China and would like exemption from NSG and IAEA for supply of technology for peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Referring to the India-US civil nuclear deal, Gilani told a news agency that Pakistan expected similar treatment from the world community.

He said he had told Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh that it was because of this reason that Pakistan did not object to the approval of the India-US deal by the NSG.

Gilani ruled out possibility of giving the IAEA access to disgraced scientist AQ Khan, who has been under house arrest since early 2004, when he admitted to running a nuclear proliferation ring.

Gilani also denied there was any US pressure to roll back Pakistan's nuclear programme.

He said there was no point in providing the UN nuclear watchdog any access to Khan, on whom the US has recently slapped sanctions, as "his network is broken and there is no need for any other information."

Gilani said US had stopped making demands about freezing or rolling back Pakistan's nuclear programme. "We are following international norms and I do not think there are any (US) concerns at the moment," he said when asked if Washington had stopped demanding that Islamabad should abandon, freeze or roll back its nuclear programme.

Responding to an announcement by US president-elect Barack Obama about deploying additional foreign troops in Afghanistan, Gilani said this would intensify fighting in the war-torn country.

The new US administration-in-waiting has announced that it will withdraw troops from Iraq and concentrate on Afghanistan.

"That means there would be more fighting in Afghanistan," Gilani said, adding that it might happen despite the fact that the al-Qaeda terror network has become weaker.

He disputed the assertion that al-Qaeda has gained a foothold in Pakistan's tribal areas. "I also at times feel that there is no al-Qaeda in Pakistan's tribal areas. These are all Taliban and you can call them any other name."

Referring to the move backed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistani and Afghan tribal chiefs to foster dialogue between the Afghan Taliban and the US, Gilani said: "It is just a move. It is not something concrete."

Gilani said the move came out of the mini tribal jirga held in Islamabad in October 2008. "They (jirga members) have had consultations in their initial meetings and they want something to go further and there should be talks."

Gilani said former president Pervez Musharraf had entered into an agreement with the US for providing logistic and other facilities to American troops in Afghanistan. He claimed the details of this agreement were not known to the army, government or parliament. However, this agreement has been institutionalised.

Asked about earlier reports that money paid by the US for coalition support activities had not reached the Pakistan Army, Gilani said some doubts had arisen because Musharraf had held the three key posts of army chief, president and chief executive.